St. Paul daily globe. [volume] (Saint Paul, Minn.) 1884-1896, 1887-12-07
AN EMIGRANTS CAFE.
The VOracious Patrons of &
Blocker Street Restaurant.

me tOFac1OuS PatrOnS OF q
Blocker Street Restaurant.
New York Star.
A visit to the emigrant' cafe, on
Blocker street, between Wooster street
and South Fifth avenue, would have a
wonderfully soothing effect on the
legendary hotel grumbler, and view
of the dining room during meal would
alter the opinion of Darwin and actuate
a belief in the theory that some of man
kind at least descended from the hog.
Fancy long table with crude benches
about Oh which is seated q horde of
hungry, unwaShed, jabbering males and
females. No table linen, no napkins,
only the bare board, a few castiron
china dishes and some malleable iron
cutlery.
The first course, as given on the time
table, is ''Zuppe." This peculiar liquid
has the appearance of dishwater with
''tutti frutti'' floating about on its sur
face, and is brought upon the tables in
large tureenS resembling punch bowls,
and in each tureen is a ladle, which
does away with the usual white-aprOned
dispenser. No sooner are the vessels
deposited on the table than each one,
not in turn, but altogether, makes a
grand dive for the ladies and helps him
self. LOaveS of bread cut in halves &C
companies the zuppe;;" and the velocity
with which the plates are cleared of
both bread and soup can better be i'm
agined than described. They eat and
talk with their mouths full, but above
all the jabbering,. fumbling of dishes
and clash of spoons can be heard that
peculiar Kissing sound made by the
hungry mortalS as they hold the spoon
full of liquid about three inches from
their mouths and coax it off thespoOn by
an indrawing of their breath.
After this course the dishes are cleared
off and the table mOpped off over the
heads of the guests with a long handled
mop. This method is indispensable, for
it would be impossible for waiter to
get between the occupants of the
benches to clean the table.
The next course was peSce or fried
fish, and this they took in their hands,
like limb of chicken, and tore it like
a traveller does a tough sandwich in a
railroad restaurant. Bones and all were
crushed and swallowed without appar-
ent annoyance, except here and there
could be seen mouth stretched wide
open and four dirty fingers and a
thumb diving down the aperture after
q troublesome bone. Next in order
came ''manOarapo." which is ''beef a la
mode" Knives and forks were in little
demand, for with chunk of beef in one
nand and the other one chasing the
Shiny pieces of ''macherOni," which &C
compauied the meat, they had no use
for those implements. Then came roast
"pOltO," or chicken and "roast bif, "
''formaggiO," which is cheese, ''pOmi,"
and half bottle of ''vinO de pastO."
1t wound up like meal fit for the
gods. and all for 20 cents. After the
meal was concluded they all adjourned
to the rear of the room, where hung the
public napkin, and with it gathered off
the surplus which had remained on
their lips, cheeks, chins and some stray
Cling boards. A visit to the sleeping
apartments disclosed another scene as
barbarous as the one in the dining room.
Huddled together in long narrow
room were nearly hundred emigrants,
some lying, some sitting on the low
wooden cots that lined the walls on
four sides of the room, others wander
ing aimlessly about the room, appar-
emily unconscious of their condition.
Young men and maidens, old men and
children; mothers, with their infant
sucklings-all mingling together as one
vast family, with no SecluSiOn afforded
for preparation to retire for the night,
and no effort made to provide separate
apartments for the sexes.